Former Texas hospital executive gets 10 years for $16M fraud

A former Houston-area hospital administrator was sentenced to 10 years in prison Sept. 16 for his role in a $16 million Medicare fraud scheme, according to the Department of Justice.

Starsky Bomer, former CFO and COO of Atrium Medical Center in Sugar Land, Texas, and Pristine Healthcare in Pasadena, Texas, was sentenced to prison after being convicted of one count of conspiracy to receive healthcare kickbacks, two counts of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute and one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.

According to evidence presented during the five-day trial, Mr. Bomer and his co-conspirators defrauded Medicare of $16 million by submitting false and fraudulent claims for partial hospitalization program services, a form of intensive outpatient treatment for severe mental illness. Mr. Bomer and his co-conspirators allegedly submitted the claims through Atrium Medical Center and Pristine Healthcare between 2011 and February 2013.

The evidence presented at trial showed Mr. Bomer orchestrated a scheme by which he and his co-conspirators paid illegal bribes and kickbacks to group home owners and patient recruiters in exchange for sending Medicare patients to Atrium and Pristines' PHPs. Many of the patients admitted to the PHPs did not qualify for and were never provided partial hospital services, according to the Justice Department.

In addition to the prison term, Mr. Bomer was ordered to pay $6.28 million in restitution and forfeit $158,260.